However, Li Er advertised throughout the world, posted a notice to recruit monks, and held a water and land ceremony to save the lonely souls in the underworld.

The court official in charge of this matter was the Grand Historian Fu Yi. However, before Fu Yi entered the court as an official, he was a Taoist priest, and an extremely peculiar materialist among Taoist priests.

His view on Taoism was that it was usable but not trustworthy, and he completely scoffed at Buddhism, believing that it was a Western religion that was an invasion of China.

If such a concept is placed in a normal world without demons, it would naturally be considered an atheist with advanced thinking.

But in this world of gods and demons where immortals, gods and Buddhas exist, Fu Yi's idea is somewhat unreasonable.

After personally visiting the underworld, Li Er felt quite troubled by Fu Yi's attitude and could only summon Prime Minister Xiao Yu, Minister of the Imperial Household Zhang Daoyuan, and Minister of the Central Secretariat Zhang Shiheng to debate with Fu Yi in the court.

After a debate on Buddhism, Li Er, who had already had a tendency, pretended to end the debate.

The Water and Land Assembly was held as usual, but the people responsible for selecting monks from all over the world changed from Grand Astrologer Fu Yi to Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu, and Zhang Daoyuan.

After that, ten days later, the number of monks in Chang'an City increased, and almost five out of ten monks were bald.

Elders and high monks from famous temples all over the world gathered here, wanting to show their skills at this rare water and land conference that only happens once a century, in order to promote the reputation of their temples and Buddhism.

The next day, Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu and Zhang Daoyuan gathered all the monks at the site for the water and land assembly outside the city of Chang'an.

In the mountain and river altar, countless bald heads gathered together in the sun. Three of them sat on the altar, discussing in low voices while sizing up the information in their hands and the monks below, trying to elect a virtuous monk as the altar master.

However, this move is indeed somewhat difficult, because the eminent monks from all over the world are recommended by local officials.

In order to get the emperor's attention, these local officials praised the monks they recommended highly in their letters of recommendation, using all kinds of compliments, even saying that he was the reincarnation of Buddha.

Under such circumstances, it is naturally not that easy to select a monk with real talent.

After discussing for a while, Wei Zheng suggested: "I think there will be communication among the Buddhists. Why not let them elect their own candidates?"

Xiao Yu and Zhang Daoyuan looked at each other and praised: "Prime Minister Wei's words are very good!"

So the three court officials stood up and announced that they wanted the thousands of monks present to discuss the Dharma among themselves and elect an eminent monk.

The monks looked at each other in bewilderment but had no choice but to do as they were told. During this process, Wei Zheng and the other two watched coldly, observing their every move.

Suddenly, Zhang Daoyuan looked surprised, as if he had seen something unusual.

Wei Zheng noticed his expression and immediately asked with a smile, "Master Zhang, do you have a favorite candidate?"

Xiao Yu beside him also turned around and saw Zhang Daoyuan with a strange expression on his face. He pointed at a tall young monk in the corner in front and whispered to the two of them, "My lords, do you know who this person is?"

Wei Zheng and Xiao Yu looked in the direction of his finger and shook their heads in confusion: "I don't know."

Zhang Daoyuan said softly, "This person is the high monk from Jinshan Temple recommended by Jiangzhou, Master Xuanzang."

"Master Xuanzang?"

When Wei Zheng heard the name, he suddenly realized something and asked, "Could it be the son of Chen Guangrui, the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion?"

Zhang Daoyuan nodded and said, "That's right!"

Xiao Yu also reacted and said with a smile: "I was wondering why this name sounded so familiar. Scholar Chen had a strange experience. His son became a monk since he was young and fasted and received precepts since he was born. This is also a big strange story in the court."

"Why, Master Zhang wants to recommend this person?"

Zhang Daoyuan nodded solemnly, "I really want to recommend Xuanzang."

Xiao Yu was slightly startled, and asked in surprise: "Is there a personal affair?"

Zhang Daoyuan shook his head and whispered, "Prime Minister Xiao, you don't know that Chen Xuanzang has had a connection with Buddha since his mother's womb. When he was five years old, the Buddha himself appeared and a celestial dragon descended to the world to grant him power."

"Eight years later, when Chen Xuanzang was only thirteen years old, he went to Jiangzhou alone to avenge his parents' blood. After Chen Xueshi came back to life, Master Xuanzang returned to Jinshan Temple and practiced in silence for ten years."

"At the age of 23, Master Xuanzang came out of seclusion and traveled around the world, exorcising demons and saving countless lives."

"The people remember his kindness and are touched by his power and virtue, so they call him the Great Compassionate, Great Power and Great Virtue Master Xuanzang!"

Wei Zheng and Xiao Yu looked at each other in surprise, "Is this really true?"

The latter flipped through Jiangzhou's recommendation letter and frowned, "It's not clearly stated in the recommendation letter!"

Zhang Daoyuan coughed and whispered, "This person is involved in the matter of Scholar Chen, and because the former governor of Jiangzhou was impersonated by bandits for thirteen years, Jiangzhou and even the court were all negligent in overseeing it, so I will not mention it."

Wei Zheng was furious when he heard this: "What a good way to hide it!"

Zhang Daoyuan hurriedly comforted Wei Zheng, saying with a smile: "Although it is not mentioned in the recommendation letter, inside and outside Jiangzhou, officials and common people alike are all aware of the great name of Master Xuanzang. These monks from famous temples all know the name of Master Xuanzang to some extent."

"…If you don't believe me, just look!"

As he spoke, Zhang Daoyuan pointed to the monks below.

Wei Zheng looked up and found that the monks who were about to debate with Master Xuanzang all had solemn expressions, as if they were facing a formidable enemy. The opponents who were currently discussing the Dharma with Master Xuanzang looked even more embarrassed, and some even had ashen faces, looking quite angry and frustrated.

“As expected, Buddhism is profound!”

Wei Zheng was surprised and quickly asked his servants to go down and eavesdrop.

Not long after, the servant came back with a strange look on his face.

Wei Zheng and the other two were curious and asked the guard to repeat the conversation.

The servant hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Master Xuanzang is indeed sharp-tongued and has profound Buddhist knowledge, but... he seems to have a rather carefree personality. When discussing the Dharma, he often does not follow the rules."

Wei Zheng asked with great interest: "How can you not play by the rules?"

The servant didn't dare to say anything, so he could only lean close to Wei Zheng's ear and whisper to him what he had seen.

Wei Zheng was shocked when he heard this, then he burst into laughter and couldn't help shaking his head.

Xiao Yu was curious and asked hurriedly, "What's going on, Prime Minister Wei? Please tell me quickly!"

Wei Zheng smiled and whispered, "The opponent of Chen Xuanzang is a disciple of the abbot of Lingquan Temple. His Buddhist teachings are profound and his speeches are exquisite, but Master Xuanzang sneered and refused to debate with him."

"The other party was furious and said that Master Xuanzang did not abide by the rules and regulations. He also said that when Master Xuanzang was staying at Lingquan Temple, he smelled the smell of roast chicken in Master Xuanzang's room."

"Master Xuanzang is also a wonderful person. Not only did he frankly admit to the wine and meat affair, he also brought up the scandal that the abbot of Lingquan Temple kept a vixen and was almost drained of his yang energy by the vixen. The abbot's disciples were so ashamed that they blushed and covered their faces and walked away."

Hearing Wei Zheng's words, Xiao Yu and Zhang Daoyuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After laughing about this, Xiao Yu shook his head and said, "Although this is a brilliant move, Master Xuanzang did violate the rules and regulations. If you and I nominate him as the leader of the altar, I'm afraid people will criticize us, right?"

Wei Zheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, Prime Minister Xiao. After the other party escaped, Master Xuanzang even wrote a poem."

"It is said that wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart. If people in the world follow my example, they will fall into the devil's way."

"After writing the poem, Master Xuanzang chanted a Buddhist name, then turned around and left. I, the servant, chased after him, but could not find him. Instead, I found a golden lotus where he had been standing."

Xiao Yu and Zhang Daoyuan looked surprised: "...Golden Lotus?"

Wei Zheng stood up and said, "Yes, I am also very surprised. I want to go and see it. I wonder if you two adults would like to go with us!"

Xiao Yu and Zhang Daoyuan stood up: "Of course!"

…

…

In the Taiji Hall, Li Er sat on the dragon throne, looking at a golden lotus in the jade box in amazement.

Below, Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu and Zhang Daoyuan bowed and reported, telling Li Er everything they knew.

Wei Zheng said: "In addition to the golden lotus emerging from the ground, at three o'clock last night, a golden cloud suddenly appeared in the sky, about ten meters in diameter."

"Amidst the sudden rain and strong wind, the auspicious cloud remained motionless, hovering over the inn where Master Xuanzang was staying. It was extremely magical."

"I believe that Your Majesty convened the Land and Water Assembly to liberate the souls of the Wrongly Dead City. In this case, the eminent monk who presides over the assembly should possess supernatural powers in addition to Buddhist teachings."

"Master Xuanzang is one of the most powerful masters in Buddhism today. Last night, I checked the local reports and found that in every state in the world, there are indeed stories of Master Xuanzang exorcising demons and monsters."

"This matter has been verified by many parties and is absolutely true. Your Majesty, please take a closer look!"

Li Er stroked the leaves of the golden lotus, nodded and said, "Of course I believe what Wei Qing said. Come, draft an imperial decree to grant Master Xuanzang of Jinshan Temple the positions of Left Monk Leader, Right Monk Leader, and Great Monk Leader of the World!"

"Order him to build a meditation couch, decorate the meritorious service, arrange the music, choose an auspicious day, and preside over the 49-day water and land assembly!"

Wei Zheng and the other two kowtowed to express their gratitude, accepted the imperial edict, and then left the palace and went to the inn where Chen Xuanzang was staying.

…

…

In the Ziwei Palace, Lin Zhongtian and Nie Changchuan sat in front of a silver light curtain, looking at the scene in the light curtain with great interest.

Nie Changchuan sighed, "With my personality, presiding over the Land and Water Assembly, fulfilling my master's orders, and liberating the wronged souls in the underworld will definitely not be a problem, but traveling to the West to obtain the scriptures may not be possible..."

Lin Zhongtian smiled and said, "Do you want him to go?"

Nie Changchuan thought about it and said frankly: "If the purpose is to cultivate, I would naturally want him to go there."

Lin Zhongtian nodded and said, "Then we can only intervene with external forces..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and waved it. Suddenly, silver light burst out from his hand, connecting to the world of Nie Changchuan's reincarnation.

At the same time, in the inn, Master Xuanzang sat cross-legged in meditation, practicing his magical skills.

Suddenly, a silver light flashed before his eyes, and a divine thought entered his mind, saying slowly: "Chen Xuanzang~"

Chen Xuanzang suddenly opened his eyes, his whole body glowing with golden light, his eyes like torches, scanning all around, and he shouted coldly, "Who?"

The voice said slowly: "I am the Buddha who appeared in spirit, the one who bestowed the power of the Heavenly Dragon, and I am also the nameless monk sweeping the floor under the Jiaoshan Temple..."

"It's you?!" Chen Xuanzang was shocked and horrified. He couldn't help but ask, "Who are you and why are you helping me?"